For Kentucky Derby winner Mario Gutierrez, ’it means so much to me’ to return to Vancouver this weekend

Cam Tucker, Vancouver Sun05.10.2012

138th Kentucky Derby winning jockey Mario Gutierrez poses for a picture with Matt Treanor #18 of the Los Angeles Dodgers after throwing out the ceremonial first pitch before the game between the San Francisco Giants and the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on May 9, 2012 in Los Angeles, California.Harry How
/ Getty Images

138th Kentucky Derby winning jockey Mario Gutierrez smiles before throwing out the ceremonial first pitch before the game between the San Francisco Giants and the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on May 9, 2012 in Los Angeles, California.Harry How
/ Getty Images

Kentucky Derby-winning jockey Mario Gutierrez (left), who honed his skills at Hastings Racecourse, throws out the ceremonial first pitch before San Francisco played Los Angeles on Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium.Getty Images
/ Getty Images

Mario Gutierrez comes down the front stretch atop I'll Have Another to win the 138th running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on May 5, 2012 in Louisville, Kentucky.(Rob Carr/Getty Images)

Jockey Mario Gutierrez holds a bouquet of roses after riding the winner, I'll Have Another, of the 138th running of the Kentucky Derby to a come-from-behind victory at Churchill Downs racetrack in Louisville on Saturday.Reuters
/ The Province

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VANCOUVER — Mario Gutierrez might have to fight back the tears when he arrives at Hastings Racecourse Sunday, eight days removed from his improbable win aboard I'll Have Another at the 138th Kentucky Derby.

The 25-year-old jockey spent six years racing at Hastings — when he was one of the top riders at the track between 2006 and 2011 — before getting his shot riding alongside the best jockeys in the world at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky.

Gutierrez and I'll Have Another managed to track down and beat 4-1 favourite Bodemeister by one-and-a-half lengths at the wire to win the Derby in front of a record crowd of 165,307 spectators, and countless others throughout the world watching on television.

By Wednesday night, the sudden celebrity was throwing out the ceremonial first pitch at a Los Angeles Dodgers home game.

On Sunday, Gutierrez will venture back to where it really all started. He admitted in a phone interview he thought his return was a secret. Not so much, anymore. If he seemed joyous over the phone, the emotion could be overpowering come Sunday.

"I hope not, I think I've already cried enough like a baby," said Gutierrez, laughing in between answers.

"Who knows? I know I'm so happy ... I don't know."

Gutierrez will address reporters at a news conference, beginning at noon, and will then partake in a meet and greet with fans at the track, starting at 1 p.m.

Special might be an understatement when it comes to how Gutierrez views this reunion.

"It means so much to me, because I felt at Hastings, the trainers ... they just adored me like a son and they make me feel like I'm at home," he said.

"I will never forget the opportunity I got at Hastings. Thanks to them, I finally got the opportunity to give to my family a better life. Thanks to that, I gave my mom and dad a house ... I just think that Vancouver gave me so much that I just can't be thankful enough for them."

Gutierrez grew up in the small farming town Veracruz, Mexico. He moved to Vancouver when he was 19 years old, when he was recruited to Hastings, which sits peacefully in the northeast corner of Vancouver, with the North Shore Mountains providing the back drop for spectators.

It's miniature compared to Churchill Downs. But, for the first time ever, it produced a competitor — and a winner — at the Derby.

Not many, including Gutierrez, could have predicted a meteoric rise from poverty, to modest stardom, to international fame.

"To everybody who knew me, and other jockeys, it happened to me," he said.

"Sometimes you can dream too high and it will never happen. But now I can say that if you dream enough and you put enough effort, great things happen and dreams can come true. It doesn't matter where you came from, it doesn't matter where you race, great things can happen with a little of opportunity and luck."

Staff at Hastings Racecourse are preparing for Gutierrez's arrival. It was originally expected that he would return to Vancouver sometime closer, or during the summer, when a ceremony honouring his accomplishments was to be held.

The celebration is happening earlier than expected.

"It's very exciting. We're looking forward to it and he's looking forward to saying 'thanks' to all those Vancouver fans," said Raj Mutti, the general manager of Hastings Racecourse.

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For Kentucky Derby winner Mario Gutierrez, ’it means so much to me’ to return to Vancouver this weekend

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